Audio Signal Generator to Alter Tomato Plant Behavior

Bryan Rudshteyn, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in Electrical Engineering

I found this capstone project to be a very interesting experience. When I started the beginning phases of it, I never imagined that I would be doing something like this, especially since going into it I had no idea of what I was getting into or even how I would be able to contribute anything to it. Because I am an electrical engineering major, my capstone was based on my senior design project which was about audio signal generator to alter plant behavior.

Due to the nature of my project relying on proving and recreating the scenario in which a published experiment claimed that sound helps tomatoes grow better, I needed to create a sound generator and grow tomatoes with it and then compare it to the results of tomatoes growing without it. This experimental research, while not initially seeming as something difficult or interesting, required very accurate measurements and data capturing techniques to be used, that were not used or taken in previous engineering courses.

There was a lot that I took away from this experience, which yielded interesting results. It was in doing this experiment and research that I was able to truly understand that a real experiment is when you genuinely don’t know what results to expect. With the aid and support of my professor who mentored my team and I through this research, we were able to understand the unique approaches that engineers have and the effectiveness of working as a group instead of just individualized assignments. Additionally, it was with his expertise that I learned how to conduct a proper experiment and how engineers should collaborate effectively to be as efficient as possible.

Furthermore, the completion of this research taught me to believe half of what you measure and a tenth of what you read. Overall, this project provided a unique experience as I was not expecting to grow plants and do a lot of biology research as an electrical engineering student. This, however, would open my eyes as to how diversified an engineer’s skills can be used in various areas of study, regardless of their knowledgeability on the subject matter.